Here is the compilation of the five biggest breaking news from the world of technology and AI in last 24 hours.
1)
X all set to resume operations in Brazil after month long ban
In a major reprieve for X, Brazilian supreme court has granted the permission to Elon Musk’s microblogging platform for resuming its operation in the country. In order to get this relief, Musk had to retreat on some of the contentious issues including the decision to take down many controversial accounts and appoint a legal representative in Brazil. These controversial accounts were accused of spreading election misinformation by Brazil’s top court. Nearly a month ago, Musk had refused to ban these accounts and openly accused Brazil’s supreme court of suppressing the conservative voice of the Brazilian society. However, with Musk mellowing down, the ongoing legal tension between X and Brazil’s supreme court is likely cool down, at least for the foreseeable future.
2)
Geoffrey Hinton, hailed as godfather of AI, awarded noble prize in Physics
British Canadian professor Geoffrey Hinton, wildly referred as the godfather of AI, has been awarded the noble prize in Physics for 2024. He will be sharing this award with American scientist John Hopfield. Hinton said that he was ‘flabbergasted’ and ‘surprised’ for being awarded as the Noble prize. He worked with Google’s AI division before resigning in 2023. Although wildly credited for heralding the AI revolution, he has warned that humans should remain wary of this cutting-edge technology. Hinting that AI comes with the risk that machines could outsmart humans in the future.
3)
Snapchat is Bringing Ads to App’s Main Chat Tab
Snapchat has always kept the chat tab free from ads but that’s going to change now. The company announced on Tuesday that its users will soon start seeing ‘sponsored snaps’ from advertisers in their inbox alongside messages from their friends. However, if the users do not choose to open the sponsored snaps, the company has assured that it will be automatically removed from the inbox. Alongside, it is also debuting ‘Promoted Places’ on Snap Map that will help users to discover new and interesting places. It remains to be seen how much will this help Snapchat in improving its monetization.
4)
Roblox accused of inflating user stats & metrics by Hindenburg Research
Prominent video gaming company Roblox came under a negative spotlight on Tuesday, after New York based and popular short selling company Hindenburg Research levelled serious allegation against it. It accused that Roblox has been inflating number of users on its platform by nearly 24% to 42% in an attempt to take investors for ride. Hindenburg also accused the video gaming company of inflating other key metrics for painting the rosy picture. After the report became public, Roblox’s shares saw 7.5% decline in its stock price during the pre-market trading session. Roblox has so far not commented on this issue.